How to Store Clocks

My mom has three clocks in her living room—and each displays a different time. Of course I’ve offered to correct this for her but she’s stubborn. “I like it that way,” she says, firmly. It would be one thing if the clocks showed the time in Paris and Tokyo and San Francisco, but they don’t. Each is 10 or 20 minutes off. Mom says that this keeps her on her toes, but I think one of my brothers neglected to pack the clocks properly before our recent move.

Don’t let this happen to you. Your family members will be 20 minutes late to work or 10 minutes early to dinner and not even realize it. It will be chaos. Before your next move, take a few minutes to learn how to pack and store a clock.

If you want to store a clock—for the short term, before a move, or the long term while you travel the world—don’t just wrap it in a storage blanket and hope for the best. If it’s a small, mantel clock, take these steps:

Take out the batteries and wrap them separately;

If there’s a glass dome, remove it and put newsprint paper or tissue inside to absorb any shocks, wrap the outside with bubble wrap, and put the entire thing a sturdy box;

If there are pendulums, wrap these with bubble wrap or tissue paper;

Be sure to use clean, non-inked wrapping materials; and

Set the entire package aside and pack or store it last, with nothing on top of it.